


Knell

by pipermca



Series: Praxian Trine [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Regrets, Sort Of, Transformers Spark Bonds, fall of praxus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:02:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29988120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipermca/pseuds/pipermca
Summary: After discovering that the Vosian air force was on its way to destroy Praxus, Barricade tries to contact his mentors to warn them.
Relationships: Barricade/Bluestreak/Prowl (Transformers)
Series: Praxian Trine [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153754
Comments: 8
Kudos: 19





	Knell

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS AHEAD if you have not read [Mind, Body, and Soul](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21908962/chapters/52293604)! This story takes place during [Chapter 25](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21908962/chapters/56739586), from Barricade's point of view.

Barricade's spark thudded against its casing with every frantic spin. He drove away from the Kaon Citadel as quickly as he dared, weaving in and out of traffic while simultaneously trying not to attract attention. While he drove, he attempted to calculate how much time he had left to warn his mentors.

He knew that the Vosian air force been gone for a few hours. He had seen the vast numbers of Seekers streaming past the Citadel when he was on his way back from his meeting with the other intelligence officers. He hadn't asked anything about them; after all, troops were being repositioned all the time now, and they sometimes needed aerial support.

It was none of his concern, or so he thought.

 **Slag!** Why hadn't he asked about them earlier?

It was only when he'd mentioned the flight of Seekers to Octane that he found out where they were going. For some reason, Octane always knew all of the ins and outs of what was happening in the Citadel. Barricade had always thought the big triple-changer might have made a good intelligence officer if he hadn't also been so loose with his vocalizer. As soon as Octane told Barricade where the Seekers were headed, Octane looked uncomfortable, just like he always did when he accidentally spilled some bit of information he shouldn't have. But Barricade's processor was already reeling from the implications of that leaked fact.

There was no doubt in Barricade's mind that the reason he hadn't been told of the Seekers' mission was because of his vocal disagreement with Lord Megatron's ultimatum to Praxus, to finally pick a side in the conflict. The aftermath of that incident had almost landed Barricade in stasis, and had given everyone in Decepticon High Command a new appreciation for the power Lord Megatron now held over them.

Barricade's spark throbbed as the memory of that very particular pain flashed through his processor. He quickly partitioned off those files again, and tried to focus on figuring out how much longer he had to get a comm out of Kaon.

 **Hours** had passed! He'd lost so much time. He had to warn his mentors – and Bluestreak's and Prowl's, if they'd even talk to him – to get out of Praxus, now. How far was it from Kaon to Praxus? Never mind the actual distance; how long did it take to get there by air? Barricade's engine growled as he swerved around another slow troop transport lumbering along the main highway into downtown Kaon. Barricade wasn't the numbers mech. He **hated** math. He was terrible at equations. He also knew that Bluestreak would have been able to calculate this with no problem. In fact, both of Barricade's bond mates would probably be able to figure out this problem while doing three other things at the same time.

Barricade felt another stab of loneliness, and wished that he'd been able to somehow convince his bond mates that his road was the better one for all of them. Then he pushed those thoughts aside; once the Decepticons started making **real** progress towards levelling the playing field for all Cybertronians, Bluestreak and Prowl would **see** he was right.

But in the meantime, Barricade had to warn his mentors to get out of Praxus, immediately.

Taking an exit into one of the more run-down areas of the city, Barricade slowed and merged into the lower-level traffic. In this neighbourhood, it didn't take him long to find what he was looking for: a bar with mechs clustered outside, all in varying degrees of intoxication. High Command was slowly going through and closing these places down in order to confiscate the engex they sold to be reconverted into fuel for the army. But while they were still open, the bars were an easy place to find mechs of no consequence... Mechs who no one would miss if they went missing. Mechs who were so deep in their drink that they wouldn't remember what led them to waking up in a darkened alley with their processor throbbing.

There. **That** one. Barricade transformed and casually followed a mech who was staggering away from the group he'd been talking to. He matched the drunken mech's pace, slowing and adding a bit of a shuffle in his own step so as to blend into the crowd. Not that he was worried about surveillance: the streets in this area still had little in the way of security sensors, although if Soundwave had his way that would soon change. Rather, Barricade simply didn't want to be remembered by anyone in the area just in case the comm he wanted to place was intercepted.

He had no doubt that Soundwave would already be scanning any comms leaving Kaon.

Barricade's quarry paused in a slightly darker area of the street to lean against the side of a building, oblivious to the mechs walking and driving past. With two long strides Barricade caught up with him and slung his arm around the mech's shoulders. "Hey, friend," Barricade said, flashing a grin. "Long time no see! Where've ya been?"

The mech, a smaller blue and grey truck, peered up at Barricade blearily. "Uh, what?" he muttered. He seemed to be having trouble getting his optics to focus on Barricade.

"Let's go this way," Barricade said, smoothly directing the mech into the next alley.

With a glance behind them to ensure they weren't being followed, Barricade swiftly pulled out the stasis rod he'd hidden in his subspace. As soon as they were into the darkest part of the alley – invisible to passers-by and under a small overhang to protect him from casual optics overhead – Barricade powered the rod on and jammed it into the drunken mech's side.

"Sorry about this," Barricade murmured as the mech's yellow optics flared white before going dark. He gently lowered the mech to the ground and palmed open his data port. A moment later, Barricade was jacked into the mech and starting to systematically disabling his firewalls. Then, with a few practiced and efficient commands, he insinuated himself into all of the mech's systems.

It was a trick that Barricade had stumbled upon when conducting an interrogation of a suspected Senate sympathizer a few months earlier: with a few tweaks to the carrier programs he used to strip a mech's memories, he could also slip himself into the other mech's processor and take control of every system as if they were a drone. Vortex had been unimpressed by Barricade's discovery, saying it had limited use. From Vortex's point of view, what was the point if you could only control the other mech when you were physically connected to them? But Barricade had filed the trick away, sure that it would come in handy some day.

He accessed the mech's communication systems. The unconscious mech's comm frequency was still registered to Kalis; obviously he hadn't been in Kaon long enough to switch his frequency over. It was a stroke of good luck that Barricade needed, even as he was horribly aware of how much time had passed since he found out where the Seekers were heading. A comm from a Kalis frequency would get routed differently than one from Kaon. Barricade hoped that bit of misdirection would give him a few more minutes before his comm was traced.

After all, it's not like it was illegal to comm someone outside Kaon! The Decepticons were all for freedom of communication.

You just had to make sure you were communicating with the right people... For the right reason.

Using the unconscious mech's communication systems, Barricade placed a comm to a frequency that had been imprinted in his memory since the day he was forged. It was mid-morning in Praxus, and Barricade knew that Sidewire was likely at work already. When he was busy he tended to ignore comms, so Barricade tried his oraculi first.

It took two rings, but before Barricade could despair that maybe his other mentor was also ignoring his comms today, the tone changed as the comm connected. "Hello, Redjaw here."

"Ora." At the sound of his mentor's voice, Barricade felt his grip on the unconscious mech's systems slip. He focused, bending all of his concentration into what he was doing and what he had to say. "Ora, it's Barricade. Listen-"

Redjaw's slightly distracted tone changed immediately, becoming one of astonishment. "Barricade! Oh, Primus, we've been so worried about you. Let me patch in Sidewire and-"

"No, there's no time. Listen to me!" In the darkened alley, Barricade's engine rumbled as he spoke over his mentor. "There's a huge squadron of Seekers headed to Praxus right now. They're coming to bomb the whole city. You need to get Sidewire, now, and get out of Praxus as fast as you can." Barricade closed his optics as he pictured his mentors' flat and where it was in relation to the highways running through the city. "Get Sidewire, and take the upper expressway south out of the city. Get as far away as fast as you can."

"What are you talking about?" Now Redjaw sounded more like how Barricade remembered from his youth: frustration at his mentee's antics and exasperation when Barricade refused to listen to his mentors. "Do you have any idea how we've felt? We've had no idea where you've been, or whether you were safe, or what you were doing. Bluestreak and Prowl have been just as worried. After you... Did you know that after what happened, Sidewire and I were questioned by the Enforcers here on behalf of the Primal Defense Forces, because of what you..." Redjaw's voice crackled with static. "Barricade, please, tell me **why**!"

Barricade bowed his helm, his own frustration rising. "Ora, I'm sorry you feel hurt," he said. "I really am. And I wish I had time to explain why I did what I did, but... **Please** listen to me. What's important right now is that you have to leave. **Now**." Barricade's spark ached at Redjaw's mention of his bond mates. "If you've got time, please comm Blue's and Prowl's mentors for me. Make sure they leave, too. But get yourselves out first." Barricade balled his fists as he glared down at the slack face of the unconscious mech he was using. "The Seekers must be almost there, so you have to hurry."

Redjaw vented softly into the comm line, and Barricade could picture his mentor's frown. "You could just comm Bluestreak and Prowl yourself. I think they'd love to hear from you even if... Well, I'm sending you their new frequencies now."

"Ora, you don't have time for this. You have to-" Barricade paused as his comm system accepted the info transfer for two frequencies. Two frequencies with Praxus signatures. Barricade froze, then said, "Wait. Why do they have new frequencies?"

"Because they moved here about three months ago. You must know how upset they've been, and-"

Barricade didn't hear anything else Redjaw said. Instead, he stared at the wall of the alley with the sound of his own energon roared in his audials. Haltingly, Barricade said, "I... I didn't know... Blue and Prowl are in Praxus?"

"Yes. I just said that. Prowl got a job with Civil Defense, and Bluestreak's company relocated their offices here. They're both settling in nicely, but I know they'd feel better if you were with them." Redjaw's voice softened. "Barricade, all of us miss you terribly. We'd love it if you would come home. We love you." He paused to let those words hang in the air for a moment before seeming to finally listen to what Barricade had said. "So... What was this about Seekers?"

Bluestreak and Prowl were in Praxus. **Bluestreak** and **Prowl** were in **Praxus**. As the full import of what that meant was finally realized by his processor, Barricade's priorities suddenly changed. His mentors were important to him, immensely so, but... **Bluestreak and Prowl were in Praxus!** Barricade stared down at the mech under him, trying to plan and talk at the same time. "Ora, I have to go. I have to comm them and warn them too. Just... Focus on getting Sidewire and then get out of Praxus. **Now**. Please! There isn't much time left. I... I love you. And Cator, too. Now... **Go!** "

Then, before his mentor could say anything else, Barricade disconnected the comm.

Still crouched over the unconscious mech he'd been using to cover up his unauthorized comm signal, Barricade paused for a moment to collect this thoughts. Then he looked up and down the alley, and overhead. He'd only intended to take a minute or two to get the message to his mentors (oh, frag, **please** let Redjaw have listened!), barely long enough for anyone to get a signal lock. Placing another comm to Praxus would make it much easier for him to be noticed and his position triangulated. If he was identified and caught...

Barricade's spark throbbed at the memory of what happened the last time he spoke up against Lord Megatron.

He had to move before he placed another comm.

With his chronometer still ticking down an unknown amount of time until the Seekers reached Praxus, Barricade picked up the small truck and flung him over his shoulder, staggering slightly under his weight. The mech was short, but he was also heavy. Barricade knew he wouldn't be able to carry him very far. Then again, he also knew he had precious little time to waste.

A few meters down to the other end of the alley, a dodge up the next street, and a turn into another alley. This new alley was between two tall towers, even better for hiding from casual sky-borne sensors, but there was no overhang for him to hide under.

He was out of time. It would have to do.

Barricade threw the mech down onto the ground unceremoniously and immediately used his systems to place a comm to the new frequency for Bluestreak that Redjaw had given him. It rang three times before he heard the tone of a missed comm, advising him to leave a message.

What to say? Barricade let the words flow out of him. "Blue, it's Barricade. Praxus is going to be destroyed. You have to leave **now**. Get Prowl, and get out. I'm going to try him next." Then he closed the comm and tried Prowl's frequency.

As expected, Prowl was tagged as Do Not Disturb, and the comm bounced immediately to messages. Barricade left the same message with Prowl that he had with Bluestreak, then tried Bluestreak's frequency again.

This time, Bluestreak's frequency went straight to messages, indicating he'd shunted the comm directly there, or he was talking to someone else.

His engine snarled in frustration as Barricade pounded his fist into the wall over the unconscious mech's helm. "Pick up, Blue!" Barricade muttered, and tried the frequency again, desperation clawing at his spark.

This time, Barricade heard the comm connect, and a familiar voice hesitantly said, "Hello?"

Barricade's optics flew wide. "Blue! Blue, it's Barricade. Listen to me."

"Cade?" Bluestreak's voice was so faint, Barricade almost didn't hear his name.

Barricade wanted to reach through the connection, to gather Bluestreak in his arms and hug him, just like he had that last time he'd seen him. He wished he could collect Bluestreak, and Prowl, and pull them both back through the comm line into the alley with him where they would be...

Well, not **safe**. But at least they'd be **here**.

But all he could do was talk to Bluestreak.

In the alley, Barricade leaned forward, as if that could lend weight and urgency to his words. "Listen! Listen, **please**. I had no idea you were in Praxus. I would have commed you and Prowl first if I'd known." Barricade sat up, looking up at the towering buildings around him, trying to see the sky. How close were the Seekers to Praxus? How much time did he have left? "You have to leave Praxus. **Now**. Right now. Tell whoever else you need to. It might already be too late. I just found out what they're doing, and – Oh, Primus!" Barricade fought a losing battle to keep his vocalizer powered. " **Why** did you go back to Praxus, Blue?" Then Barricade lost the battle, and his words vanished into feedback.

Bluestreak's voice sounded just as lost and confused as Redjaw's had been. "Cade, where have you been? What are you talking about?"

With his optics still cast skyward, Barricade saw a flicker of something overhead, flying above the tall towers. It could have been an aerial, or a shuttle, or... Or maybe something else. Maybe a cassette. Barricade balled his hands into fists again, pouring all of his determination and focus into getting his message through to Bluestreak. "Blue, I can't talk. I have to go. I can't make another comm. They might have already tracked this one. Just..." Barricade vented unsteadily. "Go. Get Prowl, get my mentors, and yours, and go. Get out of the city. Now. Please!" Barricade's engine whined as he poured out the last few words. "I love you and Prowl so much. Please... Please get out of Praxus. I love you."

Then, before he could say anything else (before he could get swept up in telling Bluestreak everything he wanted to tell him), Barricade disconnected the comm line and withdrew his consciousness from the mech beneath him. As he pulled back, he quickly erased the last few minutes in the mech's short-term memory, which were already muddled from the engex. Unless someone examined him very closely, the missing time would hopefully be passed off as a side effect of his drink. The mech would wake up in a few hours with a throbbing processor ache and no recollection of how he ended up in the alley. With luck, that would be the worst thing that happened to him tonight.

Barricade, on the other hand, glanced upwards again apprehensively. He caught another flicker of movement overhead, a shadow against the sky, flitting between the buildings.

Leaving the mech slumped against the wall of the alley, he fled.

He drove aimlessly for a few minutes, taking turns as they presented themselves to him, before stopping at a little run-down shop on the corner of two larger streets. They had an ad for copper curls out front, and a short time later Barricade walked calmly out of the shop with a small bag of the curls in his hand.

Nothing of note to see here, just a loyal Decepticon follower picking up some treats for himself and his comrades.

Barricade was careful not to look at the sky before transforming and starting the drive back to the citadel.

With only half his attention on the traffic around him, he was finally able to cast his awareness into the bond. He was so far away from Praxus that it took a concerted effort to sense anything from his bond mates. It was no wonder he'd had such a hard time sensing anything from either Bluestreak or Prowl for the past few months; Praxus was even further from Kaon than Iacon was.

Slag. **Praxus!** Why, **why** did they go back to Praxus?

The distance-faded emotions from his bond mates came in subtle waves. Concern from Prowl. Focus from Bluestreak, then anxiety. Determination from Prowl, and love. Barricade wondered if they were talking. He hoped they were discussing plans to get out of the city. He hoped they were already on the road, maybe driving just behind his mentors, getting clear of Praxus and the-

Barricade was almost to the citadel, just taking the turn to head up to the main gate, when his spark was suddenly overwhelmed with a wash of fear and pain and...

_Bluestreak!_

Barricade slammed on his brakes, oblivious to the shouts and horns of the mechs who suddenly had to dodge around him on the road. He transformed, staggering out of the road and into the transformation lane, before falling to his knees as he was overcome by another wave of terror from his bond mate. Desperately, Barricade poured his essence into the bond, trying to reach Bluestreak through his fear, trying to figure out what was happening, what was going on, where was Bluestreak, where are you, please be safe, please be all right, please be-

And then there was a bright flash of soul-rending pain... Followed by silence and emptiness.

_No! Bluestreak!_

The horror of having a hole ripped in his spark made Barricade reach for his other bond mate, who he could feel was reeling just as badly as he was. Prowl clung to Barricade's presence in surprise and shock, his distress clear even across the distance between them, and Barricade wove his awareness with his other bond mate, each of them instinctively seeking comfort in each other, in their grief.

_Oh, Bluestreak._

They might have been entwined for only been a few moments; in his shock, Barricade had lost track of time and his surroundings. He felt hands on him, heard questions being asked, but his whole awareness was in the bond, reaching out to Prowl just as he could feel Prowl reaching towards him.

Inside their sparks, where they were never truly apart, Barricade and Prowl grasped at each other for support, both of them reeling from the sudden loss of Bluestreak from their trine bond.

But then, Barricade felt Prowl gather himself, his familiar focus and determination returning even through his sorrow and disbelief. With a sudden movement, as if shrugging himself out of Barricade's grasp, Prowl sent Barricade the sharpest flash of seething fury that Prowl had ever directed at him. Not after any of their arguments had Prowl ever reacted so strongly.

In their sparks, Barricade recoiled from Prowl, trying to send him apology, regret, remorse, I'm so sorry, this wasn't supposed to happen, please believe me, please understand, please, Prowl, please...

Rejecting the emotions that Barricade sent to him, Prowl threw up a solid block on their bond, and faded from Barricade's awareness.

With his bond with Prowl blocked, Barricade was alone... Alone with the gaping hole in his spark where Bluestreak should be.

_Prowl!_

_Bluestreak..._

Sprawled on the ground outside the Kaon Citadel, Barricade buried his face in his hands, heedless of the guards asking him what had happened, and of the shouts for someone to call a medic. None of that mattered, not anymore.

_Oh, Primus._

_What have I done?_

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this fic, please consider sharing it on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pipermca/status/1370171856418922496) or [Tumblr](https://pipermca.tumblr.com/post/645408752032514048/knell)!


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